Guidelines to curb disability discrimination at work are riddled with loopholes and could be abused by employers, support groups say.
The code of practice was released by the Equal Opportunities Commission last week.
'There are loopholes people will take advantage of, which will lead to the ordinance not being implemented,' general secretary of the Hong Kong Physically Handicapped and Able-Bodied Association, Pauline Tong Fung-kwan, said.
She referred to a section on 'unjustifiable hardship' where companies' employment decisions might be discriminatory, but could be justified.
'It seems to be biased towards employers in some ways,' she added.
The code of practice says: 'Employment decisions that would otherwise be discriminatory may be justifiable if a person, who would otherwise qualify for the job, requires adjustments which would impose unjustifiable hardship on the employer.
